I went to the range yesterday and shot my beloved folded slide P226, and noticed that my accuracy was (if you'll pardon the language) complete and utter shit. I mean, I'm rusty, but not THAT bad (especially since I was getting pretty nice groups with my CZ).
Then it dawned on me that the front sight is not where it's supposed to be, and I can move it with my finger.
What can I do to fix it? I know I need to replace the night sights because they're 10 years old, but I'm not sure if that alone will be enough. I suppose staking it is an option, albeit an ugly one. Perhaps Loctite or something similar to take up the extra space?
[EDIT: Changed a word in the title because autocorrect]
"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
I agree with V-Tail if you dont do your own sight changes. If the new sight is still loose in its dove tail, it will probably get shimmed below and Lock tight, peened correctly or material punch raised in the bottom of the dove tail for a tight install.
Posts: 18000 | Location: The Bluegrass State! | Registered: December 23, 2008
If you need to tighten a sight in a dovetail you can put it upside down in a vise and use a center punch to raise some metal. I’d start with three or four solid hits along the edges that meet the dovetail. On the bottom of the sight. Then refit. If you need more you can do more.
--------------------------- My hovercraft is full of eels.
Ima gonna be the hold ma beer redneck with a dremel here....
I have found a little blue locktite has worked the one time I had this happen. Yeah I know kinda redneck and peening some metal or replacing it is really the way to go but.......who had my beer anyway?
"Guns are tools. The only weapon ever created was man."
Posts: 7982 | Location: On the water | Registered: July 25, 2002
I'm going to start with ordering the new sights and see where that takes me. A friend has a sight pusher he's willing to let me use, so no hammer and punch for me.
I did talk with Mr. Burke; his turnaround time and price are surprisingly reasonable. I might do that if this turns out to be a bigger job than I expected.
Since I'm replacing it anyway I might just experiment with the old sight and my automatic center punch.
"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
I have a 1990 P220 that had the same issue. Front sight actually fell out at the range and was so loose in the dovetail I could slide it in and out freely. I know two ways to correct this short of replacing the slide. One is to use a center punch to peen the bottom of the dovetail slot; the other is to lay a round shanked punch or screwdriver across the top of the empty dovetail slot and strike it with a hammer, crimping the top edges of the dovetail. I used the first technique on my P220 and it worked loose again after a few hundred rounds. I used the second technique and it has held now for 15 years and several thousand rounds.
Posts: 312 | Location: Central Florida | Registered: October 17, 2006
Originally posted by eclayton: I have a 1990 P220 that had the same issue. Front sight actually fell out at the range and was so loose in the dovetail I could slide it in and out freely. I know two ways to correct this short of replacing the slide. One is to use a center punch to peen the bottom of the dovetail slot; the other is to lay a round shanked punch or screwdriver across the top of the empty dovetail slot and strike it with a hammer, crimping the top edges of the dovetail. I used the first technique on my P220 and it worked loose again after a few hundred rounds. I used the second technique and it has held now for 15 years and several thousand rounds.
A hardened dowel pin in the correct diameter is very precise.
Posts: 18000 | Location: The Bluegrass State! | Registered: December 23, 2008
If you are going to change your sights anyway, try the new sights before you tighten anything up. I put new ones from Sig in a pair of 20 year old 226s, and while the old ones came out with a sight pusher, the new ones were way too tight. If your slide dovetail is loose, the new ones might be about right. I put in one set of 3 dot, and one set of nights.
Posts: 1648 | Location: North Carolina | Registered: June 16, 2004
Originally posted by Watergoat: If you are going to change your sights anyway, try the new sights before you tighten anything up. I put new ones from Sig in a pair of 20 year old 226s, and while the old ones came out with a sight pusher, the new ones were way too tight. If your slide dovetail is loose, the new ones might be about right. I put in one set of 3 dot, and one set of nights.
That's actually the plan. I'm ordering the new sights and trying them before I do anything else. Who knows...I might just get lucky.
"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
Originally posted by 1KPerDay: If you need to tighten a sight in a dovetail you can put it upside down in a vise and use a center punch to raise some metal. I’d start with three or four solid hits along the edges that meet the dovetail. On the bottom of the sight. Then refit. If you need more you can do more.
This. I would recommend modifying the sight (the cheap part) BEFORE trying to modify the slide (the expensive part).
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Posts: 3911 | Location: Central AZ | Registered: October 26, 2006
